How it all Began
We trace our roots to Edward Durwood, who opened the Durwood Theatre in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1920. Edward’s son, Stanley H. Durwood, joined his family’s small but growing chain of Midwestern movie houses and drive-in theatres in 1945. He became president of Durwood Theatres in 1960 and continued experimenting with the concept of a multiple-screen theatre.

After trying several reconfigurations of existing spaces in the 1950s — amounting to 13 screens and 10,000 seats spread among several downtown Kansas City theatres — Durwood created the first-ever mall multiplex in 1963. Three years later, he introduced the world’s first four-screen theatre, followed by the first six-screen theatre in 1969. By then, the company had expanded beyond its Kansas City home into Arizona, California, Nebraska and Texas.

In 1968, with 68 screens, the company was incorporated as American Multi-Cinema, Inc., in honor of its signature facility, the multiplex. Over the next 30 years, the company would continue to introduce many industry “firsts,” revolutionizing the moviegoing experience.

The first multiplex that Gary mentioned was The AMC cinemas 1 & 2 at Ward Parkway. They're gone now, taken out as part of remodeling but I saw some good movies there in the 70s including Young Frankenstein.